The Space In Between
by Alphakat
Summary: Sometimes all you need to do is look a little harder.
1. Chapter 1

**FRIDAY MORNING**

Everyone watched as head cheerleader Brooke Davis bounded down the crowded hallways of Tree Hill High, unaware of all the wandering eyes on her as she tossed her long, brown hair behind her shoulder. Her hazel eyes never faltered from the tall, handsome basketball player rummaging through his locker and as her hips swung seductively back and forth with every step she took, the realization of who was heading towards him by the silent whispers surrounding him seemed to dawn on him. Looking up from his books, Lucas Scott's blue eyes brightened.

"Good morning," Brooke smiled, finally reaching his side.

Smiling like a fool, Lucas leaned in and planted a soft yet sweet kiss on her shiny lips, leaving most of Tree Hill High's women swooning over them like romantic fools while the fellas simply glared, annoyed that it'd been the new kid who'd won the Queen Bee's heart in the end.

"Pretty Girl." He smiled as he pulled away. "I missed you."

"It's only been 12 hours," Brooke laughed, linking their hands. As the bell signaling homeroom rang, Lucas quickly grabbed his bag and shut his locker, walking alongside his girlfriend down the hallway. "I've missed you too, though." Pecking him on the lips again, Brooke turned to look around them and noticing that they were finally alone, smirked. "What do you say we play hooky today?" Her eyes had a mischievous gleam in them, making Lucas laugh.

"I have a test today," he sighed as she tugged him towards the gym. "It's pretty important too."

Brooke stopped, her hands already on the gym doors. Biting her bottom lip, she looked up at her boyfriend and gave a slight shrug, the expression on her face giving away her disappointment. "Fine," she forced a smile. "I guess I'll just take the morning off by myself." He rolled his eyes and cupped her face, staring lovingly into her eyes as his resolve melted away.

"Alright, fine." He kissed her again. "Let's go."

* * *

><p><strong>HOMEROOM<strong>

"Brooke Davis?"

Every head in the room turned to look at the back row, the brunette's regular seat. Peyton Sawyer, who'd been too busy doodling into her Psychic's notebook to hear roll being called, pushed a blonde curl behind her ear before looking up, a bit stunned by the amount of people staring over at her. Noticing the empty seat beside her, though, Peyton automatically knew. Setting her pencil down, an eyebrow rose while a grimace spread on her lips, daring anyone to make even the faintest of sounds. It was obvious Brooke was skipping again but everyone knew how close she and Peyton were and with the feisty blonde sitting so close, no one was stupid enough to actually test her patience.

"Has anyone seen Miss. Davis?" Ms. Linch asked, slightly annoyed. What a question.

Of course everyone had seen her; that was the reason they dragged themselves out of bed in the mornings to go to school. It'd become part of everyone's regular, every day routine. High school had become a fashion show once more and though most snickered and gossiped behind Brooke's back whenever something hit the fan about her, they secretly admired her for being everything they weren't. The only time Brooke actually skipped was when Lucas actually consented, an extremely rare thing; he must have done just that for the brunette to skip out without giving Peyton a head's up.

"She's sick," Peyton covered for her.

"Excuse me?"

"I said," Peyton refrained from rolling her eyes, "Brooke's sick. Allergies."

"Very well." Ms. Linch sighed, writing something down. "Thank you, Miss. Sawyer."

For the fourth time that month, Peyton had stepped up and lied for her best friend, not that she minded much. Especially not with Ms. Linch. The woman had deluded herself into thinking that by using the Ms. before her last name, no one would be smart enough to guess that there wasn't a Mr. Linch anywhere in the picture; unfortunately, where her harsh demeanor with students had kept her secret, her genuinely unfortunate looks hadn't.

"Well now," Ms. Linch began her lecture. "Seeing as how Tree Hill's Princess of Priss isn't in class today, why don't we try and catch up to the rest of the Physics department? Go ahead and open your books to page 394."

The words the frigid bitch had spluttered hit a nerve. It took a couple of seconds to let the condemning insult register in Peyton's mind but once it had, her drawing could very well eat shit for the moment because there was a much more pressing matter at hand. Slamming her pencil down a little roughly, Peyton sat up straight and pierced Ms. Linch with her bright green eyes, wishing she'd drop dead.

"Excuse me?"

Ms. Linch looked up. "I said turn to page 394, Miss. Sawyer."

"Oh, I heard you the first time," Peyton replied dryly. "Would you mind explaining to me where the hell you get off insulting a student out loud?" Her temper was starting to flare and suddenly the room was deadly silent.

Ms. Linch gave a less-then apologetic frown, feigning sincerity as she spoke. "Forgive me if my comment offended you in any way, Miss. Sawyer, but admitting that Brooke Davis is a complete anchor in this classroom would save you a great deal of trouble later on in the semester. I'm afraid things have been progressing rather slowly this semester." The arrogant-like smirk that spread on her lips as she turned around to begin writing on the board didn't go unnoticed by the blonde and instead of opting for bashing her over the head with her foot, Peyton decided to get out.

Grabbing her things, Peyton stood up and made her way towards the front of the classroom, ignoring the look of disbelief on Haley James' face as she walked past her desk. Peyton rolled her eyes in indifference; Haley loved to call herself both Brooke and Peyton's best friend but really, how much of a best friend could you be if you let wastes of space like Ms. Linch badmouth them? If Haley were a better friend, she would've walked out of class alongside Peyton, not fire reproachful looks at her as she walked out.

"With all due respect, Linch," Peyton retorted, "the only thing progressing rather slowly in this classroom is your brain."

* * *

><p><strong>GYM BLEACHERS<strong>

Lying against her boyfriend's chest beneath the gym bleachers, Brooke felt herself begin to drift off, completely at peace with the world. As Lucas told her about a prank the guys had pulled on his younger brother a few days ago, his fingers trailed through her hair, one of the few things that soothed her, enjoying the feel of such silky smoothness it really was.

"Honestly, I didn't think Nate would go for it," Lucas laughed, "but you know how unpredictable the guy can be."

"I'm actually surprised," Brooke yawned a little. "Nate doesn't seem like the type to fall for something like that."

Lucas started laughing a little louder. "That's what really got me. You'd think he would've seen right through it but once you've been called out, you have to do it or risk being called a pansy for a lifetime." Brooke swatted his arm playfully as she turned over onto her side, looking up at him with those eyes he loved to gaze into so much.

"Boys and their testosterone," the brunette rolled her eyes. "One of these days, one of you is going to end up in the hospital and you'll remember me then, Lucas Scott." Lucas smirked at her before caressing her cheek lovingly, meeting her eyes with his.

"I'm always going to remember you, Brooke Davis."

Before she could say or do anything in response, the gym doors flew open abruptly, startling them both. Luckily, the stranger who'd interrupted their nirvana wasn't a faculty member but a fuming Peyton who was wearing an expression that would've left anyone six feet under if looks could kill. Without so much as a word to the couple, she plopped down across from them, notebook still in her hand, as her venting phase commenced.

"That stupid cow!" the blonde seethed, slamming it on the floor. "And she wonders why she isn't married!"

"Ms. Linch?" Brooke smirked knowingly.

"Yes!" Peyton threw her hands up in frustration. "Where the hell does she get off bad-mouthing you to the class? What kind of respectable teacher actually voices her opinion of a student out loud and ignorantly believes she won't get sued?" Lucas sat straight up, a look of absolute disbelief plastered on his face. "I have half a mind to walk into the office and tell them exactly what kind of detestable woman that pathetic excuse of an public educator really is!"

"What did she say?" Lucas demanded.

Peyton huffed, her cheeks reddening from all the blood rushing to them. Brooke smiled, reaching a hand out to calm her friend down; it always amused her how red the blonde could get every time she began to take on more than she could handle, but something about the way Peyton's extensive vocabulary and knowledge of public education had started seeping through told Brooke that if she decided to file a report against Ms. Linch, not only would the superintendent listen, but he'd take immediate action.

"That doesn't matter, Lucas," Brooke sighed, touching him softly on the arm before turning back to Peyton. Rubbing her best friend's thigh comfortingly, she gave her another smile. "Peyton, do you know how many people badmouth me behind my back?" Peyton grimaced, the thought too unpleasant to think about. "If it's not bothering me, it shouldn't bother you either. It's not worth it."

"I just don't understand how you can be so calm about it," Peyton muttered.

"Neither can I," Lucas agreed.

"What can I say?" Brooke beamed at the two of them. "I'm an optimist."

"More like delusional," Peyton shook her head, earning herself a smile from Lucas.


	2. Chapter 2

**FRIDAY AFTERNOON**

As the day finally came to an end, Lucas found himself walking down Tree Hill High's crowded hallway once more, trying to avoid being stampeded to death by the animals all rushing towards the door. Maybe everyone was excited about Thanksgiving weekend, he thought to himself as he swung his bag onto his back and took his time walking towards the big, red double doors; or maybe someone was throwing a party tonight. Whatever the reason, Lucas smiled at a few of his teammates, the youngest Scott was most grateful for it. After a trying practice during study hall, all the energy he'd had had dissipated and the uncommon silence after the madness had come to an end relaxed him.

Instead of rushing to the parking lot where chaos would no doubt be taking place, Lucas opted for strolling along towards the school entrance, reflecting on his last few days of pure bliss. Things couldn't be going any better for him, was the reoccurring thought in his mind, and it was all thanks to Brooke. Somehow, the brunette had made life once again enjoyable and all because he, Lucas Scott, had a beautiful woman's love.

It was all a guy could really ask for.

"Hey there, gorgeous." The voice made him smile.

Turning around, Lucas extended an arm out to Brooke, who happily skipped the rest of the way and wrapped her arm around his waist as his hung loosely around her shoulders, a trademark gesture that they'd somehow silently decided was the most comfortable for the both of them. Most of the female population thought it was the cutest thing, though they weren't the only ones who did it. Brooke didn't know why but as the months played out, she'd become more and more aware of how high in regards the student body held her relationship with Lucas. It was surreal.

"Hey there, Pretty Girl." He pecked her on the cheek, giving her a smile as he turned back around.

"How was class?" Brooke asked, sliding her hand into his.

"Boring, as always," Lucas chuckled. "Harding wants us to write some stupid paper due Monday."

Brooke scrunched her nose in distaste. "Someone needs to let him know this is high school, not the army." Lucas smiled, pressing his cheek into her auburn hair, taking in the sweet scent of lilac she always seemed to smell of. "On a lighter note, Nathan's having a party later tonight," Brooke smirked up at him, knowing how much he really didn't like his brother's parties; they usually ended with stupid drunks passing out all over the place. "It's at the beach house, so at least we'll go down in style."

Lucas kept his eyes on the school doors. "Are you gonna go?"

"Maybe," Brooke smirked. "If I find something cute to wear."

"What about your handsome boyfriend?" Lucas teased. "Does he have a say in this?"

Brooke shrugged with an 'afraid not' kind of look. "Thing is, I'm more of a free spirit, if you will, Mr. Scott, and this boyfriend of mine has been cramping my style lately. I can't have that, now can I?" Now it was unclear who was teasing who as they reached the double doors. Slipping from out of their embrace, Lucas held the door open for her, a chastising smirk spreading on his lips.

"Then maybe we should get to the uncramping."

"That sounds like a personal issue, Luke." The feisty brunette shot him a devious wink before skipping ahead towards her car sitting in a practically empty parking lot. He followed hastily, watching her move with newfound fascination. Looking back over at him, Brooke bit her lip at the way his eyes pierced hers and broke out into a smile she knew he wouldn't be able to resist. "I was thinking we could leave around 8ish?" she asked lovingly, letting him wrap his arms around her waist as he leaned her back against her Volkswagen.

"I don't see why not," Lucas smirked again, planting a kiss on her lips.

Pulling away from him, Brooke gave him a stern look with half a pout. "Don't you dare bail on me, Lucas Scott. Anyone who's anyone is going to be there tonight and Nathan's really pumped about it. It's his first official soiree in a long time and he wants us there as moral support." Opening her car door, Brooke quickly slung her school bag inside before turning to kiss Lucas on the lips on last time. "Besides," she raised her eyebrows, "free booze."

"Of course," Lucas laughed. "I'm heading to the library later but I'll swing by around eight."

Brooke smiled warmly over at him before embracing him one more time, lips and everything. Lucas wrapped his arms around her and they stayed that way a long time, at least longer than they normally would out in the open the way they were, but it was as if the world melted away and time froze every time their lips connected; they couldn't help it.

The sound of giggles broke them apart, generating blushes from both lovebirds. Looking around, Brooke watched as her audience of about four girls turned away sheepishly, embarrassed at having interrupted the couple's moment, and gave Lucas a small smile as she got into her car.

"Why don't we pick this up later?" Brooke suggested with a smile. "When we aren't so exposed?"

"Now that sounds like a personal issue," Lucas laughed.

As he shut the door for his beautiful girlfriend, he returned the toothy smile she'd given him before stepping back and watching her pull out of the parking lot. Once she'd become a speck on the horizon, Lucas turned and headed towards his own car a few spots away. Rummaging through his pockets, the feeling that Brooke Davis might end up being the death of him struck Lucas and thinking back on the last five minutes he'd just spent with her, he had to wonder if that would be such a bad thing.

* * *

><p><strong>ON THE ROAD<strong>

Humming along to the radio, Brooke kept her eyes on the road as previous thoughts about her relationship began to resurface. Her father being one of the wealthiest men in the Tree Hill area, it didn't come as any surprise when people began reaching out to her at school. Her mother had explained it to her once before starting second grade all those years ago; people loved to look at pretty things and, in this case, Brooke was it. So when people began to keep track of her newfound relationship with Lucas six months ago, she'd simply waved it off as human curiosity.

As flattering as it was, though, sometimes it just got under Brooke's skin.

"_Green is the color of my envy  
>It's the color of fame<br>So I'm gonna write it down to scream it out  
>And I'm never gonna be the same again<em>"

The pressures of having to live up to everyone's expectations were a lot for Brooke to carry on her shoulders, much less her six-month-old relationship. God forbid, if something were to happen to them in the long run, the full weight of the student body would fall on both her and Lucas' shoulders throughout the entire break-up and that was the last thing either of them would want. Although many liked to believe that Brooke Davis loved the attention she was showered with thanks to her father's money, the truth was the exact opposite; from a very early age, the young girl had always been rather reserved, yet she'd always had her character. Yes, there had been moments during her adolescent years where Brooke had decided to rebel against everything her parents believed a young, wealthy woman should be and do her 'party girl' status justice, but that's all it'd been. Rebellion.

Some things were just better left alone. Like her and Lucas.

_"Hardcore superstar _  
><em>By far you're the ultimate star<em>  
><em>Do you wanna be a superstar<em>  
><em>Well that's what you are<em>"

Usually anytime Brooke thought about Lucas, she arrived at the same conclusion: They were the real deal. Some might even say soul-mates. Still, there was always that elephant looming in the corner of every room, taunting the brunette every time she acknowledged it even for a moment; the thought of life after Tree Hill High was as much of a disconcerting thought as any, mostly because Brooke had already formulated a flawless plan for her future, a habit she'd picked up from her father over the years. The fashion industry was the next big step for this Davis and as heartbreaking as it felt at times, Brooke couldn't see Lucas taking on the challenge of keeping up with such a fast-paced life.

"He can," Brooke encouraged herself. "He can and he will, Davis. He will."

* * *

><p><strong>DETENTION<strong>

Dwight Eisenhower once said, "You do not lead by hitting people over the head— that's assault, not leadership." And, boy, did he know his shit.

Peyton Sawyer had seen her fair share of failed friendships to know one when she saw one. This one was no different. It'd been looming around the corner for quite some time now but denial could be a very powerful coping mechanism for the blonde when she needed it. Nothing in specific had happened to make Peyton doubt her relationship with Haley, but for some time now things just hadn't seemed as friendly as they usually did. The frustration the blonde felt as the realization struck her was deafening; hitting her over the head would've been a better alternative than facing the facts, but of course that wasn't even an option. Haley was going to have to figure things out or that'd be it.

The brief moment when Peyton had caught Haley's gaze on her way out of Physics had been enough to solidify her doubts. As much as she'd wanted to ignore the look of obvious discontentment, the ghost of it racing through her mind wouldn't let her move past it the way Peyton normally would have. If anything, it triggered the mounting resentment the blonde already felt towards one of her supposed best friends, igniting alongside that something much more than what it should have been.

Considering Ms. Linch, a teacher so horrible that even Haley herself had criticized the woman because of her ineptitude, had openly insulted Brooke, the only thing Haley should have done in the situation was leave alongside Peyton, not scold her with her eyes. No matter how Peyton spun it, her friend's reaction didn't make any sense and instead, gave her one constant conclusion: Haley James sucked.

"Miss. Sawyer." The stub-like teacher standing at the front of the classroom cleared his throat, crossing his arms. Looking up without a word, Peyton acknowledged him with her signature scowl, annoyed that he'd interrupted her train of thought. He merely scowled back. "From what I see, you haven't even made a dent in the assignment I wrote on the board and you only have an hour left," his drawled, cocking his head to the side.

"Assignment?" Peyton frowned.

The teacher grimaced. "Yes, Miss. Sawyer. The assignment that's been sitting on the board since you walked in."

"Oh," Peyton shrugged carelessly. "I'll get to it."

"I can assure you, Miss. Sawyer," his scowl seemed to grow nastier, "detention isn't always this fun."

The look Peyton gave him should've been enough to freeze him to the spot. "This to you is fun?" She scoffed, taken aback by his choice of words, before letting out a dry laugh. "I'd hate to see what your idea of torture is." A couple students spread around the mostly empty classroom stifled what would have obviously been soft snickers at Mr. Richard's expense.

He seethed quietly, eyeing the student with sass. "Quit with the attitude, Sawyer. I've been kind enough with you already." Pointing at the board, his eyes became narrow slits. "Get started with this assignment because if it's not on my desk by 4:30 this afternoon, I'll kindly escort you to the principal's office and you can decide between Saturday school for the next three weeks or detention for the next six." Without another word, he walked out of the classroom, letting the door slam shut behind him.

"I'll kindly shove that finger up your ass," Peyton muttered under her breath, her anger only escalating. The sound of chuckling caught her attention and soon after, a voice she hadn't heard in a long time.

"I can tell he likes you."

It seemed almost unbelievable to hear him after weeks of not seeing him. Looking over her shoulder, afraid of what she might find, Peyton thought her heart skipped a beat the moment she locked eyes with none other than Jake Jagielski. After an exhausting custody battle with his daughter's mother, he'd become one of Tree Hill's saddest stories; he'd shown so much promise throughout the first few years of high school but because of his responsibilities to Jenny, Jake had decided to drop out and find a stable job, but not before breaking some hearts on his way out.

"It's mutual," Peyton rolled her eyes, ignoring the blush creeping into her cheeks. "Since when are you back?" The question hung in the air as she waited patiently for him to either tell her she was prying or to actually give her a straightforward response for once.

"Been back for a week now." Jake cracked a small smile. "I'm surprised this is the first time we've seen each other."

"Me too," Peyton breathed softly. "What are you in for?"

"Sleeping in class," he nodded disappointedly, slightly embarrassed. "Having a kid this young doesn't exactly help your beauty sleep." The awkward silence that hung about them was almost enough to suffocate Peyton; it took everything she had to keep her butt in her chair.

"That's completely unfair," Peyton frowned. "Don't they know that you… have other responsibilities?"

Jake looked down at his assignment, knowing what Peyton meant. "I guess not everyone's as sympathetic as you, Peyton," he replied with a small shrug, his bright brown eyes meeting her green ones again. The way his eyes could smile along with him, even though he'd been dealt such a shitty hand, was uplifting since her own hand wasn't much better. "What's your story?" he snapped her out of her thoughts.

"The usual," Peyton smirked. "Standing up to the man."

"I'm pretty sure there weren't any political figures in school today," Jake inquired.

"Teachers should know better than to slander students."

"Sounds like you're very passionate about this," he nodded, trying to dig a little deeper.

Peyton gave him a knowing smirk; regardless of how much time they'd spent apart, it was still her he was talking to. "Well when the victim's my best friend, it becomes a little bit more complicated to not take it personally," Peyton gave him her sassiest smile. "Insulting someone's friend in their face obviously won't lead to anything good, so was it really all that surprising that I'd voice my opinion on Ms. Linch's mental condition?"

"Ms. Linch took a shot at Brooke Davis?" Jake gaped. "In front of Peyton Sawyer and she's still breathing?"

"If it weren't legal to impair someone, she would've needed a ventilator," Peyton grimaced, crossing her arms. "It took a lot to walk out of the class without doing the cow any real damage, though I'm pretty sure I've made a lasting impression on her."

"I'm pretty sure you did," Jake smiled, watching her intently. "I mean, it's been a year and already you've made another one on me."

His smile sent chills up Peyton's spine, unbelievably enough; it'd been a while since she'd last let her feelings for Jake rise up from where she'd buried them the year before after everything that had happened with Nicki, but smiling back at him, Peyton began to remember exactly why she'd allowed herself to fall for Jake Jagielski in the first place.


End file.
